Orange County California Genealogical Society
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mmmnmmmnmmnnnunm1m1mn1n11• '· 3 SECTIONll MANUSCRIPT ELIJAH KNAP imnecticut, New Jersey and New York by Marjorie Watts Nelson first marriage, in Connecticut, produced six ~hildren. When the home to fight in the Revolution. He served six ~e~s, ~ ;town Ford, Virginia, captured, later released, re1om~ his outfit ometime during the war, he went to New Jersey, mamed m~ ldren. Wait a minute! Did his first wife die, or was he startmg a 1e old? When he was ninety, he died in New York with yet :rvently that he wasn't a bigamist. After all, he was my grea~ I wanted him to be an honorable man. I had a lot of searchmg rmation has his name spelled Knapp. I discovered that Elijah "p." But still, with an unusual name like Elijah Knap or Knapp, e only one would be the right one. The next thing I learned was ah Knapp back in the 18th and 19th centuries. I was stunned by the :s in the census and revolutionary war indexes. Familysearch.org Lpp, none for Elijah Knap. The spelling difference became going to have to separate all the Elijahs and prove which one was ry modern day Knapp researcher, including me, is using the same 2/ogy, compiled by Alfred Averill Knapp, M.D.,(Winter Park, FL lt of the information contained therein is either downright wrong author warned that he just printed whatever people sent him wnloaded a very interesting article, "Nicholas Knapp - Myths and ras written in 1997 by Fred H. Knapp, who points out that the book Ltion and no documentation except for a few wills and land ues to be ~e major source of Knapp infonnation. It is up to each : facts of his or her own line. igrant ancestor, Nicholas Knapp, arrived with the Winthrop Fleet '1assachusetts about 1630. Nichola5 brought his wife, Elinor, been proven and that is the subject of heated debates among ijah Knap, I wiJJ limit his ancestry to the following· >) begat Caleb . i) begat Samuel begatJohn t Elijah QRANGE COUNTY CAUFORNl.A GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY !J l llHIJl l l llllJU)•ppp•n1nn1 punnnp n ANCESTRY, VOL. XXXVIII, NO. 3 JULY 2003 Elijah Knap's first marriage was to RACHEL BARDEN at Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut in October of 1769 [Early Connecticut Marriages, edited by Frederic W. Bailey, reprint Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1968, hereinafter Bailey]. According to AAK, they already had five children, whose birthdates ranged from 1756 to 1766. Why did they get married after the fact? According to a history of Norfolk, [Connecticut Historical Collections; History and Antiquities of Every Town in Connecticut, by John Warner Barber; Durrie & Peck, 1837] there were no ministers in that tiny town until 1768. Perhaps Elijah and Rachel lived as common law man and wife until they could make it legal. Elijah had three marriages [AAK]. Some researchers believe that he had four: the first to an unknown wife, the mother of his first five children; the second to Rachel Barden, the mother of his son William; the third to PHOEBE (or SARAH) WATKINS, mother of his last five children. He named his last wife in his will and she survived him. The only marriage of Elijah Knap on record is his marriage to Rachel Barden [Bailey]. In the absence of proof to the contrary, I will assume she was his first wife. In "A Brief Outline of the Glen Family" by Elijah McKinney Glen, August 1876 [hereinafter EMK] is the following written reference to Elijah Knap: "His first wife died. He then sold what he had and went into the army." So far this is the only mention of Rachel's death. When Elijah went into the army, his youngest child was three. Who was taking care of the kids if his wife had died? So far, I haven't found any record of her death or place of burial. Elijah's second marriage was in 1779, while he was still in the army. He was granted a 27 day furlough beginning 16 January 1779. AAK states positively that he was married in Basking Ridge, Somerset County, New Jersey, and that he was a pew holder for nine years at Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church. I straightway wrote to that church which, believe it or not, is still going strong and even more unbelievable, has early records! The head of their history committee wrote that they have the record of Elijah Knap's being a pew holder but no record of a Phoebe or Sarah Watkins, or of their marriage, or birth of any children. I next turned to the census. We all know the first census of the United States was taken in 1790. Elijah should be listed as a head of household in Somerset County, New Jersey, which would at least prove he was located there. Then, to my astonishment, I learned that the 1790 census of New Jersey was destroyed! There isn't one. [Story of my life] For a substitute, there's New Jersey in 1793, by James S. Norton,(Salt Lake City, 1973). It is an index to the 1793 Militia Census of the State of New Jersey. Elijah Knap is listed with the "ratables" in Bernards Township, Somerset County. I wrote to Bernards Township in hopes of proving the marriage of Elijah Knap and Phoebe Watkins. The answer? Their records don't begin until 1850. What was Elijah doing in Basking Ridge anyway, while be was supposed to be fighting a war? If I hadn't hated History so bad in school, I may have remembered that Basking Ridge was in the center of military activity during the Revolution. Soldiers were coming and going through the small town because of WASHINGTON' s headquarters at Morristown. The citizens treated the soldiers like heroes. Elijah Knap' s Connecticut outfit was in Basking Ridge at this time, causing young female hearts to flutter, and one of those belonged to Phoebe Watkins. 94 . ,...,. ' l I ~ ' . I ~ .. ... ; JULY2003 33 [AAK]. He te] and was icia Law k., Litchfield .BRAHAM and 3 [AAK) and Ridge, Somerset lndFRANCES t 1736 and died ville between ition is also 1 the Connecticut te to corporal to , and Saratoga, ~y Forge, 1781 Elijah was r1 Ford, Virginia, 6 .is right thigh and npany where he .1e 1783 and went mrth ward of ng all of his eleven rp: ~RRlLL; JOHNSON; JNE, RGLEN n (l)_DEWITTE CA WITHERELL, lASARAH, uta, Randolph Co., lren, surname nings Co., IN 16 UU/1111/lllllllllllllllllllJllllllllllllUllJlll/ [IJ(JJl(l(llJJJIJQ)Q((IJ(lflJlllJUUIIJUIPl!lllJUinn1111urn1n•1 ••u• ••1z-ec ANCESTRY, VOL. XXXVIII, NO. 3 JULY2003 2. FRANCES KNAP (Elijah') was born at Basking Ridge, Somerset County, New Jersey [EMK] on 26 December 1783 and died at Como, Whiteside County, Illinois on 13 November 1857 [EMK]. She married at Glenville, Schenectady County, New York 16 March 1803 [EMK] ALEXANDER GLEN, son of ALEXANDER and MARGARET (GLEN) GLEN. He was born at Galway, Saratoga County New York on 21 August 1778 and died at Charlton, Saratoga County on 1 June 1855. [Lovett/Methodist Cemetery record] Frances Knap was one of the five children of Elijah Knap and his second wife, Phoebe Watkins. When Frances was thirteen, the family moved to Glenville, Schenectady County, New York. Her father referred to her as Fanny in his will and left her one share in his farm. Fanny Knap Glen, first a farmer's daughter, then a farmer's wife. To help with the chores, farmers needed many children, and Fanny had twelve, probably all born at home. She had no disposable diapers, washer or dryer, or even electricity and indoor plumbing. Her work was cut out for her. The fact that she was a traditionalist showed in the names she chose for her children. The first daughter was named after Fanny's mother, the second after Alexander's mother. The third was Frances, after herself. The first son was Alexander, like his father and grandfather. The second was Elijah for Fanny's father. Fanny was forty-eight years old when her last child was born. It was to her credit that all of her children lived to maturity, though she outlived three of them. Frances Knap's sister, Elizabeth, married Alexander Glen's brother James. They settled in Randolph County, Illinois, as did Frances' son, James. Frances herself died in Como, Whiteside County, Illinois, while living with her youngest son, Gilbert. Frances and Alexander had twelve children, all b. Amsterdam, Montgomery Co. NY, surname Glen: i. PHOEBE,3 b. 15 Feb 1804, d. Schenectady Co., 16 May 1837; unmarried ii. ALEXANDER, b.3 Aug 1805; d. out West in the Mexican War, c.1845; no children iii. ELIJAH McKINNEY, b. 12 Aug 1807; d. 14 Oct 1879; m. Galway, Saratoga Co. 3 Aug 1828 SARAH BROWNELL; children, surname Glen: MARY C., ALONZO PAIGE, FRANCIS WAYLAND, GERRITT SMITH, EUGENE, JOHN GREEN, HOWARD, HELEN MAXWELL, Elijah McKinney Glen (EMK) put together a short but invaluable family history in 1876. iv. MARGARET, b. 5 Oct 1809; d.20 Mar 1837; m. Glenville, Schenectady Co. 24 Mar 1831 CHAUNCEY SEAMANS; two sons, surname Seaman: ALEXANDER GLEN, UNKNOWN; After Margaret's death, Chauncey moved to Kansas with the two boys. v. JACOBS., b. 15 Nov 1811; m. Charlton, Saratoga Co. 8 Feb 1833 HANNAH LANDERS; children, surname Glen: RACHEL ANN, HENRY L., FRANCES ELLEN, MARY C., GEORGE A., JOHN MOSES, MARGARET J.; family resided in Charlton; Jacob S. Glen was a fanner 3. vi. FRANCES, b.14 Oct 1813; m. Charlton, Saratoga Co. 10 Oct 1833 FRANCIS BANGS PENNY 96 nnnzp111m111111m 1mm11m1rronnouumnn1nmmn11111mm1 ANCESTRY, VOL, XXXVIII, NO.